A variety of cabinets, furniture and other objects have openings which are covered by a false front panel. By way of example, cabinets in bathrooms often include a false front panel in front of the bathroom sink that appears to be the front of a drawer. Such a false front panel is usually employed to match or compliment the front panel of an adjacent drawer or drawers. The false front panel is often used to cover an opening in the face of the cabinet. Connectors are known in the art for connecting such a false front panel over the opening in the cabinet or other object.
In many applications, false front panels are designed to be releasably attached to the wall, cabinet, furniture face or other object to which they are attached. In these applications, the false front panel may be removed to provide access to items inside of the wall, cabinet or other object such as a sink. In these applications, permanent connectors such as adhesives, rivets or nails, or semi-permanent connectors such as screws, are typically inappropriate. However, various other types of false front connectors are available that may be used to releasably attach a false front panel over an opening in an object.
One known type of releasable false front connector 10 is depicted in FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1A, the false front connector 10 comprises a two piece connector that includes a clip 20 and a post 40. The post 40 is cylindrical in shape, and has a top end 42 and a bottom end 44. The post 40 further includes an aperture 46 along its central axis 47 which extends from the top end 42 to the bottom end 44. As is also shown in FIG. 1A, along the central axis 47 of aperture 46 a larger countersunk recess 48 is formed in the top end 42 of post 40. The diameter of the recess 48 is sufficiently large so as to receive the head of a screw or nail. The diameter of the aperture 46, on the other hand, is smaller than the head of the screw or nail, but large enough to receive the shank end of the screw/nail. In this manner, a screw or nail may be inserted into the top end 42 of post 40 and through the bottom end 44 into an object, to connect the post 40 to the object.
The second piece of the false front connection device 10, namely the clip 20, has a thin, flat body portion 22 and a latch 30 that extends from the body portion 22. The body portion 22 further includes an aperture 24 that is configured to receive a screw (not shown in FIG. 1A). The diameter of the aperture 24 is smaller than the head of the screw, but large enough to receive the shank end of the screw. In this manner, the screw may be inserted through the aperture 24 into a false front panel to connect the clip 20 to the false front panel. In the false front connector 10 depicted in FIG. 1A, the aperture 24 is located in the center of the body portion 22, between the two arms 32, 34 of the latch 30.
The latch 30 comprises a pair of opposed arms 32, 34 and a base portion 36. The arms 32, 34 are configured to receive the post 40. The arms 32, 34 connect to the top part of base 36, and together the inside portion of arms 32, 34 and the top portion of base 36 form a partial cylinder having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the post 40. The distal ends of arms 32, 34 are separated by a gap 38. This gap 38 is smaller than the diameter of the post 40. Both the clip 20 and the post 40 are typically formed out of a polymeric material such as HIPS, ABS, PC or nylon.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of clips 20 are connected to the rear side 54 of a false front panel 50. In a complimentary manner, a plurality of the posts 40 are connected to the side surfaces 62′, 63′ of the walls 62, 63 that define part of an opening 66 in an object 60. The false front panel 50 is used to cover this opening 66 in the object 60. As shown in FIG. 1B, typically four separate false front connectors 10 are used to connect the false front panel 50 over the opening 66 in the object 60. As shown in FIG. 1B, the false front connectors may be arranged so that the posts 40 are attached at the top and bottom of the side surfaces 62′, 63′ of the walls 62, 63 that define the side of the opening 66 with the clips 20 similarly arranged adjacent the top and bottom of each side of the back surface 54 of the false front panel 50. The false front connectors 10 may alternatively be arranged so that a clip 20 is provided at the center of the top, bottom and side edges of the rear side 54 of false front panel 50, and so that the posts 40 are inserted at the corresponding locations at the center of side surfaces 65′, 67′, 62′, 63′ of the walls 65, 67, 62, 63 that define the opening 66. Other arrangements and/or numbers of the connectors 10 could also be used to attach the false front panel 50 over the opening 66.
As shown in FIG. 1B, when the false front panel 50 is placed over the opening 66 in the object 60, the clips 20 are aligned with the corresponding posts 40 which extend out into the opening 66. A force may then be applied to the front side 52 of the false front panel 50, which acts to enlarge the gap 38 between the arms 32, 34 on each clip 20 by forcing the arms 32, 34 to deflect away from each other. When the arms 32, 34 are sufficiently deflected, the posts 40 pass through the gap 38 in the corresponding clip 20. The arms 32, 34 then snap back into their original positions, thereby locking the posts 40 into their respective latches 30 on the clips 20. In this manner the false front panel 50 is attached over the opening 66. The false front panel 50 may later be removed by pulling on the front side 52 of the false front panel 50 with sufficient force to separate the posts 40 from their respective latches 30.
FIG. 2A depicts another known false front connector 70. The false front connector 70 likewise is a two piece connector that includes a clip 80 and a post 100. The post 100 is cylindrical in shape, and includes an aperture 102 along its central axis 104 having a diameter that is smaller than the head of the screw or nail, but large enough to receive the shank end of the screw/nail. In this manner, a screw or nail may be inserted through the aperture 102 into an object to connect the post 100 to the object.
The clip 80 has a base 82 and a pair of arms 92, 94 that extend substantially perpendicular from the base 82. The base 82 includes an aperture 84 that is configured to receive a screw (the screw is not shown in FIG. 2A). The diameter of the aperture 84 is smaller than the head of the screw, but large enough to receive the shank end of the screw so that the screw may be inserted through the aperture 84 into a false front panel to connect the clip 80 to the false front panel. The arms 92, 94 extend from respective sides of the base 82, and are configured to receive the post 100. The inner sides of arms 92, 94 are curved so that they together form opposing sides of an incomplete cylinder that has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the post 100. The distal ends of arms 92, 94 are separated by a gap 98. This gap 98 is smaller than the diameter of the post 100. The clip 80 is formed of a flexible metal such as aluminum and the post 100 is formed out of thermoplastic, HIPS, ABS, nylon, PC, HPPE or PP. As shown in FIG. 2B, false front connector 70 may be used in a fashion identical to false front connector 10 to connect a false front panel 50 over an opening 66 in an object 60.
Yet another known type of false front connector device 110 is depicted in FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3A, the false front connector 110 is a one piece connector that has a base portion 120 and three fingers 130, 140, 150 which extend at a right angle from one edge of the base portion 120. The base portion 120 is thin and flat, and the front side 122 of the base portion 120 (the side opposite the rear side 124 from which the fingers 130, 140, 150 extend) may be glued or stapled to the rear side of a false front panel.
The fingers 130, 140, 150 of the false front connector 110 have respective flat strips 132, 142, 152 which extend at a 90 degree angle from one edge of the rear side 124 of the base portion 120. Each flat strip 132, 142, 152 includes at its distal end an abutment 134, 144, 154 that extends from the side of the strip 132, 142, 152 opposite the base portion 120. Each of the abutments 134, 144, 154 has a cross section in the shape of a right triangle, and is somewhat thicker than either the flat strips 132, 142, 152 or the base portion 120. Each of the abutments 134, 144, 154 extends from the flat strips 132, 142, 152 such that one short side of its right triangle cross section attaches to its respective flat strip 132, 142, 152, and the other short side of the right triangle extends at a right angle from the respective flat strip 132, 142, 152 in a plane that is parallel to the plane of the base portion 120. The abutments 134, 144, 154 are sized differently such that they extend different distances up the flat strips 132, 142, 152 towards the base portion 120. The connector 110 is formed out of ABS, PC or nylon.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the front side 122 of the base portion 120 is connected to the rear side 54 of a false front panel 50. A connector 110 may be provided at the center edge of the top, bottom and sides of the rear side 54 of the false front panel 50 as illustrated in FIG. 3B, and are located such that the fingers 130, 140, 150 of each connector 110 will fit just within the respective top, bottom and sides of the opening 66. When the false front panel 50 is placed over the opening 66 in the object 60, the long side of each of the abutments 134, 144, 154, which are angled with respect to the walls 62, 63, 65, 67 that define the opening 66, engage the edges of the respective walls 62, 63, 65, 67. When a force is applied to the front surfaces 52 of the false front panel 50, this results in a force being applied by the walls 62, 63, 65, 67 on the abutments 134, 144, 154 of the particular connector 110 adjacent each respective wall. The force on the abutments 134, 144, 154 causes the fingers 130, 140, 150 to deflect in a direction away from the respective wall 62, 63, 65, 67, such that the abutments 134, 144, 154 on each connector 110 pass through the side surfaces 62′, 63′, 65′, 67′ of the walls 62, 63, 65, 67 that define the opening 66. Once the abutments 134, 144, 154 on each connector 110 have cleared the side surfaces 62′, 63′, 65′, 67′ of the walls 62, 63, 65, 67, the force on the abutments 134, 144, 154 is released, and the fingers 130, 140, 150 on each connector spring back into their normal position. When this occurs, the abutments 134, 144, 154 on each connector 110 are positioned behind and engage the rear surface 62″, 63″, 65″, 67″ of the respective walls 62, 63, 65, 67, locking the false front panel 50 into place over the opening 66.
A fourth type of known false front connector 200 is depicted in FIG. 4A. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the connector 200 comprises a body portion 210 and a plurality of clips 230, 240, 250 which extend from the body portion 210. The clips 230, 240, 250 are spring clips that are designed to deflect when the distal portion of the clip engages an object. The body portion 210 includes a plurality of apertures 224 that are configured to receive a fastener such as a screw or a nail. FIG. 4B illustrates how a pair of the false front connectors 200 may be used to attach a false front panel 50 over an opening 66 in an object 60.
Preferably, a false front connector will be inexpensive, easy to use, and provide a secure connection. Many prior art connectors, however, are not particularly easy to use and/or do not provide a secure connection. Accordingly, there is a need for improved false front connectors.